Diebler, Ohio State survive scare from Iowa

Diebler connected on seven 3-pointers in scoring a career-high
27 points as No. 23 Ohio State overcame a big second half by
Iowa for a 68-65 victory in the Big Ten Conference opener for
both teams Wednesday.

Diebler also sizzled from outside, going 7-of-10 from the arc to
end a shooting slump. The sophomore entered the game making
just 5-of-20 shots in his previous three games, including
3-of-15 on 3-pointers.

However, Diebler found his range en route to eclipsing the 20
points he scored in a win over ACC school Miami on December 2.

"I was very proud of the effort by Jon today," Ohio State coach
Thad Matta said. "He (caught) fire in the second half and to
his credit he stepped up for us to take the big shots. I
thought our guys did an excellent of finding him open and
passing at the right time. Great shooters are only as good as
their passers."

Earlier on, Iowa was not hitting from long range, falling behind
30-15 with 5:46 remaining before halftime. Yet, the Hawkeyes
cut that deficit to 36-28 at the intermission before making the
contest very interesting in the second half.

"After the first 10 minutes we played pretty well," Iowa coach
Todd Lickliter said. "Our demeanor in the first just was not
good. To our guys' credit, even though we didn't play great we
competed in the second half."

Freshman Matt Gatens scored 14 of his 22 points after halftime
and Devan Bawinkel finished with five 3-pointers for 15 points
for Iowa (10-4, 0-1).

The Hawkeyes took their first lead of the game at 48-46 with
11:43 to play on one of Bawinkel's three 3-pointers after the
break.

Jake Kelly added a jumper to give Iowa a four-point edge, but
Diebler came back with three 3-pointers over the next three-plus
minutes, giving Ohio State a 57-55 lead with 7:48 remaining.

Diebler knocked down his seventh and final basket from the arc
with 3:49 to play, returning the lead to the Buckeyes at 64-62.

"The guys set great screens for me and I was shooting open shots
all day," Diebler said. "Guys like Will (Buford) and Evan
(Turner) were penetrating and kicking out to me for open looks."

Kelly answered back with a 3-pointer, but that would be the
final lead for Iowa, which missed its final two shots, a free
throw and committed two turnovers over the closing 2:44.

Turner made 3-of-4 free throws and Diebler split a pair at the
line in the closing moments for Ohio State, which overcame a
subpar effort at the stripe (13-of-22) in rebounding from a
76-48 loss to West Virginia on Saturday.

One of those late turnovers for the Hawkeyes came when Buckeyes
reserve guard P.J. Hill drew a charge on Kelly with 2:10 left.

The junior played a huge role on the defensive end for Ohio
State, even coming up with a key block with 6:28 remaining.

"I thought the energy brought by P.J. was tremendous at the
defensive end," Matta said. "I couldn't be happier for him and
never flinched when he comes into the game. He goes to work and
brings energy to the team and really pumps up the defense. P.J.
is committed to the team and is a competitive guy."

Despite their issues late, the Hawkeyes had a chance to tie the
game with seven seconds left but Gatens' 3-pointer was off the
mark.

Although he could not come through with the game on the line,
the 6-5 Gatens had a great start to conference play, shooting
8-of-12 with four 3-pointers and grabbing five rebounds.

"He made some big open shots for us tonight and really played
aggressive in the second half," Lickliter said. "For someone
who has grown up watching Big Ten basketball, finally
experiencing it firsthand must have been eye-opening. To his
credit, he responded really well."